Fmr. US Labor Secretary Robert Reich: College Is a Ludicrous Waste Of Money

[mythology]

2. If college is a waste of money

Then he should explain why people who have a four year degree have higher incomes, lower unemployment and do better on a host of other socio-economic measurements.

Yes sure it would be great if that wasn't the case. But the world is what it is. Our society has decided that a four year degree matters. So telling people to not get one is telling them to make less money, to be more likely to be unemployed etc.

Those technician jobs he talks about are currently providing a middle to lower middle class lifestyle. But over the course of a career and raising a family it won't be enough to keep that lifestyle.

Yes getting a college degree is expensive. I'm still paying on my grad school loans. But doing so got me a job making above the national median wage and I'm not in an especially high demand field. Does my job actively "require" a master's degree? No, but it helped me get the job.